


Dial In

by Kivea



Category: South Park
Genre: Awkward Crush, Awkwardness, Comedy, It's honestly a lot of smut, M/M, Phone Calls & Telephones, Phone Sex, Romance, Secret Identity, Sex, Smut, phone sex operator, sex-line
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:00:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27741886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kivea/pseuds/Kivea
Summary: It's Clyde's idea. The hope that if he rings a sex-line that maybe he'll loosen up a little, get the confidence to speak to their neighbour who he's been awkwardly shuffling around, not be so tense and stop punching Clyde in the arm. It's all Clyde's fault, really.He never intended to get attached to the guy.
Relationships: Kyle Broflovski/Craig Tucker
Comments: 11
Kudos: 87





	Dial In

**Author's Note:**

> This one is Old. 
> 
> I finally finished it this week, but I made it years ago (haha there's a trend with me trying to finish some old fics this year), so I apologise if the quality jumps about a little!

They sat across from one another, Clyde with a piercing determination in his eyes and his lips pulled into a thin line as his brown eyes bore into Craig’s skull. It was a battle he wasn’t backing down from, no matter how hard Craig fought. He was on the coffee table in this living room, staring with a grim expression and narrowed eyes. 

“I want you both to know this is ridiculous.” 

Craig raised his finger to flip off the third person in the room. 

“Seriously, just give him the number and leave it.” 

Oh, well, if he was siding with Craig maybe he was a bit pre-emptive in swearing at the dark-skinned man. 

“Token, no!” Clyde insisted. “We are here to support our dear friend Craig, not allow this pathetic wallowing to continue!” 

“I’m not wallowing!” Craig snapped, throwing his arms in the air as the staring match was broken. “I’m allowed to not want to stick my dick in everything that breathes, you know!” 

“It’s worse than that though! If I have to witness you awkwardly shuffling round our neighbour one more time I’m going to tear my own eyeballs out!” 

“I do _not_ awkwardly shuffle.” 

“You so do! You both see each other across the way, and you go-!” Clyde cut himself off to look over at Token and pull the most _fake_ sickeningly love-torn look Craig had ever seen. 

“I do not.” 

Token grimaced. “You kinda do.” 

“Thank you, Token!” 

“That doesn’t mean he has to ring a sex-line though.” 

“I don’t know what else to do!” Clyde sighed. “I took you out last week and you didn’t even try to score!” 

“There was no one there I liked the look of.” 

“There never is. There’s never anyone! When was the last time you saw any action?” 

Craig scowled as he looked down at the carpet. The last person he dated was…

“Thomas,” he confirmed. 

“In our _freshman year of college_ ,” Clyde persisted. “Six years ago!” 

“Yeah, well…” his defence fell flat. “Why does it matter?” 

“Because recently you’ve started hitting me again and it hurts.” 

“So, what? This is your grand idea to get me to stop?” 

“Yeah. You know. Release some tension. Make some metaphorical babies. Over the phone.” 

Craig leaned forward so he could land his fist in Clyde’s collarbone. He heard Token snort through his amusement and the brunette in front of him looked all the more justified, but the tears pooling in his eyes as he rubbed the sore spot kind of made it worth it. 

Kind of. 

“Give me the number then.” 

“You have to ring them now. Like, right now, I have to be present.” 

“No!” 

“Why not?!” 

“I’m not going to ring a fucking sex-line operator while two of my best friends are in the room!” Craig insisted. “It’s not happening!” 

“Aww, I’m your best friend?” 

“For now. You’re on thin ice, Donovan.” 

“That’s okay. I’m sure that after this my ice will be thick and hard. Just like-!” 

“Do _not_.” 

Token sighed and stepped forward, finally intervening. “Let’s…compromise, okay? I’ll leave the room and Clyde won’t stay for the whole time. Just the first five minutes.” 

“You just want an excuse to bail, don’t lie to me.” 

“You got me, Craig. For some strange reason I do not want to be here to see your uncomfortable attempt at having phone sex. I’ve seen you flirt, once, with Thomas, and it was an unpleasant experience. I can’t imagine what you’re like in the thick of it.” 

“Stop saying thick. Both of you. Please.” 

“Why? Are you in the mood for a thick-!” 

“ _Stop_.” 

Token rolled his eyes. “Seriously, you know the only way you’re going to get him to stop is if you agree. You might as well.” 

Craig stood so he could wrangle his phone from his jeans, glaring down at the brunette as he did so. “Fine. Five minutes, then you leave. And if I change my mind, even if it’s before five minutes are up, or I don’t like the sound of his voice, or even if I’m just not feeling it, then this is over. Done. I am under no obligation to continue this call.” 

“Really?!” 

“You really don’t have to look so happy about it.” 

“I just never thought you’d say yes!” 

Craig’s jaw fell slack and he turned to Token, who shrugged in response. “Yeah, you probably could’ve waited him out. You’ve agreed now though, so, off to your room! I don’t want this happening on my couch.” 

Clyde stood and pulled the brunette with him, babbling on about how he’d found the perfect number for Craig. They locked themselves in his blue room, Clyde forcing him to lie down on the bed while he fished his own phone out and got up the number, reading it out loud and settling comfortably on the end of Craig’s bed with a grin that was far too excited about this whole experience. 

He stared up at the number for a good minute, willing himself to press call. His palms felt clammy. 

“Oh!” Clyde fished his wallet out, drawing out a credit card. “Before I forget. I’d say keep it under an hour, but I doubt you’ll last twenty minutes.” 

“Fuck off.” 

“Seriously though, first time’s on me. I’m _that_ confident you’re going to enjoy it.” 

“You tested it out, didn’t you?” 

“No, I got Bebe to test it out. She was super impressed.” 

“Wow. That’s what I need right before you expect me to get my rocks off. An image of Bebe masturbating.” 

A glazed look overcame Clyde’s face. 

“You _useless_ heterosexual.” 

“Whatever, just _trust_ me, okay?” 

Craig sighed, taking the card and using the momentum to press call, not wanting to drag this on any longer. 

It rang four times before there was an answer, and in a moment of silence where there was no voice part of him hoped that maybe the line had just cut out and been a dead end. Maybe it was the wrong number. What was he even supposed to _say_ to explain who he was asking for? What if he asked and it really _was_ the wrong number? 

_ “Hey cutie,” _purred a voice down the line that was most definitely not male. _“Thanks for calling us tonight. How’re you feeling?”_

Craig shot up, narrowed eyes landing on Clyde. “My friend gave me this number. To speak to a boy.” 

The woman on the other end giggled. _“That’s alright sugar, I can get you a real sweetheart to talk to. I just need a couple of deets from you and you can get this show on the road. Find you someone perfect for your evening.”_

“Alright.” 

Clyde held up his phone, pointing wildly at the word written across the screen. 

“What?” 

“This is the guy,” he hissed. “The one we picked out.” 

“You-for fucks sake.” 

_ “Everything alright there, cutie?”  _

“Yes,” he ground out in response to the grating voice. “Fine. He’s said I need to ask for…Mike?” 

_ “Ooh, he’s one of my favourite boys. Good choice, honey. Do you know how long you wanna pay for?”  _

“Uh…what are my options?” 

_ “If you wanna do a block, we have five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes…or you can pay for five minutes and Mikey will ask you if you wanna extend?”  _

“Yeah. The five minutes, and extend thing. Please.” 

_ “Perfect! I just need some payment info and I’ll patch you through to our boy.”  _

Craig recited the number across Clyde’s credit card before he handed it back to the boy and flopped back down on the bed, cringing as he started to speak again without thinking. “It’s not like…I don’t want anything weird.” 

She giggled down the line again. _“Don’t you worry, Mikey’s good at taking care of people. He’ll do you good. Is this your first time?”_

Was it that obvious? “Yeah.” 

_ “I’ll patch you through now. Is there anything you were thinking of, or do you want him to take the reins on this one?”  _

“Let him.” 

_ “He’ll like that. Thanks for callin’ tonight. Don’t hang up on me while I patch you through now!”  _

There was a brief silence as she connected his call, and Craig lifted his foot so he could give a good shove to get Clyde to move his ass. The brunette didn’t seem very willing to move, but the wilder Craig gestured the more he caved. 

The link clicked through. 

“Hang on-!” he said before the person had a chance to speak, pulling the phone back for a moment. “Clyde I swear to fuck get the fuck out of my room before I tear your face off.” 

“Fine!” Clyde held up his hands in defeat. “I’m going, I’m going! Enjoy yourself, big boy.” 

“You better sleep with one eye open.” 

He glared all the way until his door had shut, before he flopped back down with a huff and brought his phone to his ear, a wave of embarrassment washing over him. “I’m…uh…sorry about that.” 

_ “It’s no problem,” _a surprisingly high-pitched male voice spoke through the speakers, a tremor in it that betrayed amusement, but an edge to the tone that held a sultry tone. _“I’m glad you got rid of them. I hate being interrupted.”_

“Yeah,” Craig agreed. Not that he knew. “It’s-my friend, he kinda pressured me into this. He thinks it’ll be good for me.” 

A low chuckle. _“Well, it’s not about him. It’s about you. What do you want?"_

“I dunno. I’ve…I’ve never done this.” 

_ “Lexus mentioned,” _the man said. _“How about introductions first. I’m Michael, but you can call me Mike. What should I call you?”_

“Craig,” he spoke. “Tucker.” 

_ “Hi, Craig. It’s nice to meet you.”  _

“It’s nice to meet you too.” 

He could _feel_ the nerves radiating off him, and he was certain Mike could hear them in his voice. 

“I’m sorry that I’m…” 

Awkward? A mess? Uncomfortable? Close to hanging up? 

_ “It’s alright, Craig. There’s a first time for everything. We can start off slow, if you like?”  _

“Yeah, I’d like that.” 

_ "Why don't you tell me a little about yourself?" _The tone the man took on was hushed, as if they were talking about something secretive, despite the fact Clyde had just been in the room. _"Tell me about what you like."_

The question had him stumped. "I'm kinda boring. There's not much to tell." 

_ "Boring's fine with me. I like boring."  _

"Me too," he confessed. 

_ "I'm just gonna talk you through what I want you to do for me, okay?"  _

"Okay." 

_ "I want you to think about something that turns you on," _the voice guided him, still soft and low. _"Take all the time you need. I don't want to rush this."_

Craig wracked his brains, thinking of who could've been on the other end, the gentle tone they were taking with him. "Okay." 

_ "Can you tell me what you're wearing?"  _

"Just-my shirt and jeans. And underwear." 

_ "That's perfect," _Mike purred. _"But I don't think you really need those jeans on, do you?"_

"I guess not?" 

_ "Why don't you take them off for me? I can't help make you _feel _good if I can't get_ at _the goods."_

Craig felt a smile crack across his face, lowering his hands so he could shuffle his way out of his jeans, letting them pool at his knees. "I can do that." 

_ "Glad to hear it. Doesn't that feel so much better?"  _

"Yeah?" 

_ "It looks better too. You've got such wonderful skin-can I touch it?"  _

He felt stumped at the question, biting down on his lip and allowing his eyes to close as he prepared himself to use something he hadn't used in a while: his imagination. He nodded slowly to let the man know he was ready before flushing as he realised he couldn't actually be seen. "Uh, yeah." 

_ "I love the shape of your hips," _the voice purred, and he allowed his own fingers to trace the shape of his hipbones with Mike as his auditory guide. _"Such a beautiful colour, I wish I could just dip down and taste."_

He felt his breath hitch, fingers stuttering. 

_ "But not right now," _Mike continued. _"Right now, I want to know what the rest of you feels like. I want to push your shirt up so I can run my hands across the rest of you."_

He listened carefully to the thinly veiled instructions. He was never one for being told what to do, but there was a charm to the voice and an experience behind it that lured him in. Before he knew it, his hand was back down at his hip bones and feeling the roughness of hair, before it really registered that he was hard. 

_ "Are you ready?"  _

"Yes." 

_ "Don't forget to be vocal for me," _Mike said. _"I like to know when I'm doing a good job."_

"You-you're doing pretty well so far." 

A light chuckle. An electricity straight to his groin. _"Good. Your five minutes is nearly up, Craig. Do you want me to stick around, or are you going to finish up on your own?"_

He sucked in a breath, as though he actually needed to think about it. "You can stick around. If-if you want." 

_ "I want."  _

Under the soft administrations of the voice guiding him, he didn't last long. He never pegged himself as someone who was particularly into the whole sweet and tender kind of deal, but there was always a time and a place he supposed. Apparently, that time and place was when you were nervous and had a delightful companion on the other end of a phone. 

Mike's voice washed over him in waves, purring and gentle whispers prompting his hands along, one wrapped round his erection and the other ghosting across whatever piece of skin Mike decided he needed to feel in that moment. Occasionally the operator would ask for a vocal confirmation that he was there, that he was enjoying it, that he was doing what he was told, and Craig would speak up with a croaking voice that _yes, I am. Yes, please, keep going._

He came into his hand, gasping out and trying to strangle the noise in the back of his throat. The voice purred and praised him through it all, only falling silent when he did, gasping for breath and swallowing down the dryness of his throat as he found his bearings again, reminding himself of the phone on his pillow and the stars decorating his walls. 

_ "You still there?"  _

Craig sucked in a breath, forcing himself to stay alert at the sound of the soft voice coming through the receiver. "Shit-yeah, yeah I'm still here." 

A light chuckle. _"Good. Feeling better?"_

"Yeah, I am. Are you...alright?" 

_ "I'm good, thanks. I'm glad that you're feeling better."  _

"I guess it means a job well done, huh?" 

The man on the other end snorted out an ugly laugh of surprise. _"That's one way to look at it, yeah."_

"I should-how much time do I have left?" 

A pause. _"About two minutes."_

"Wow. That-eight minutes? Seriously?" 

_ "I've had shorter."  _

Craig grimaced. "I guess that makes me feel a little better." 

Mike laughed. _"Sorry, I could've-I'm supposed to-you were fine. Don't worry about it."_

"Thanks." 

_ "Will I be hearing from you again?"  _

"Maybe. Probably." 

_ "Definitely a job well done then," _Mike spoke with that same sultry tone he'd used before. _"I'll let you get going, Craig. I hope you call again soon."_

He knew it was part of the act; try to make them feel like you wanted them to be there. Like you were invested. Even though he knew that he could also feel it working, a puff of his chest and a burst of satisfaction at the implied flattery. 

He said a quick goodbye and hung up the phone, turning his attention to the mess in his hands. He cursed under his breath, not having been exactly prepared for this in his rush to get it over with and get Clyde off his back. Cleaning up was going to be a bitch. 

He was only thankful to find that when he left his room, his flatmates weren't around. A glance at a note on the coffee table told him they'd gone out to the shops; Tokens decision, no doubt about it. He probably dragged the excitable brunette out the house to give Craig some space. 

\--

"So, how was it?" 

Craig stopped, staring up with wide eyes as he knocked his headphones off his head and round his neck. Clyde was there on the living room chair, eyes bright and wide as he searched his flatmate for an answer. Token was on the other side of the sofa and rolled his eyes at the situation, pointedly turning up the TV to drown out whatever was about to unfold. 

He hung his bag up on the hooks by the door. "I'm...going to go make food. Does anyone want anything?" 

"Yes! I want to know how it went yesterday!" Clyde insisted. "Token said it'd be weird to stick around and ask you after-!" 

Token scoffed. "It's still weird to ask him. Just drop it, dude." 

"No! I need to know!" 

Craig scrunched his nose up as he realised exactly what Clyde was asking for. "Dude!" 

"What?" 

"I'm not telling you!" 

"Yeah, but, that means you did it, right?" 

"Piss off, Clyde." 

"I'm just saying if you didn't you would've said, but you didn't you just say you're not telling me which means there's something to tell." 

Token rolled his eyes. "You need to drop it." 

"Yeah but I also need to know if I was right or not." 

Craig moved to stand behind them on the couch, holding onto Clyde's shoulders and forcing the brunette to face the TV, before he leant down and drawled into his best friend's ear with a dry tone. 

"It was great," he confirmed. "I feel like even though I want to punch you in the side, I finally can resist the urge." 

"Yes!" 

"Instead I feel like I can wait to take my revenge," he continued. "I can go into your room while you're at work and get jizz all over your sheets just so you know exactly how grateful I am. Seeing as you want to know the details _so bad_ , what better way than to show you?" 

"What." 

Token snorted. "You kinda deserve that." 

Craig ruffled the brown hair before moving back in the direction of the kitchen. "So, food?" 

"You're not-you're not actually going to get shit all over my sheets, right?" 

"No, I said jizz, not shit. Don't worry." 

"Craig? Craig!" 

The day continued as it normally would, and his best friend thankfully dropped the subject all together after the threat of soiling his sheets. Instead he sorted out lunch, before gathering the laundry for the week and heading down to the laundry room in the basement. He reluctantly accepted Clyde's, thankful that Token was a little more independent than that. 

Though the dark-skinned boy probably would've asked if he didn't have to disappear off down to the floor below, having promised to help out Bebe with some computer stuff. The pair of them would probably end up talking video games for a few hours before he saw Token again. 

He finished up his and Clyde's laundry, and took his laptop down to the communal laundry room to play on while he waited for the washing to be done. Two bags in his hands he headed straight for the elevator back to his flat, pleased to see it was vacant, letting him continue enjoying his peace and quiet. 

He resisted the urge to outwardly groan as it stopped at the first floor and turned up the volume through his headphones. 

He looked up as the door opened, freezing in place as his eyes locked with green ones. They stood opposite each other staring until the doors began to close and the man fumbled before darting into the elevator as Craig rushed to mash the open-door button, dropping the bags in his hand to do so.

The redhead gave a smile and mouthed out a 'thank you'. Or maybe he'd actually said it and Craig couldn't hear over the music blasting into his ears. But then his neighbour was next to him, both facing the elevator doors as they closed and began on the move again. 

He remembered Clyde's mocking words, suggesting that they awkwardly shuffled around each other and made gross faces at each other. His fingers itched with the urge to take off his headphones and say something, _anything_ , to prove Clyde wrong. To prove that he didn't _awkwardly shuffle_ and that he was capable of having a conversation with someone he found attractive. 

Not that he found their neighbour attractive, exactly. 

Not that he _didn't_. 

The doors began to open again and revealed a black man on the other side. Craig's eyes locked with his flatmate's and he tried to telepathically get a message across to him, to ask for some kind of help in this awkward little box the pair were in. 

Token whistled and turned on his heel, heading for the stairwell. 

God fucking _damnit_. 

The doors shut again and the elevator began to move, leaving just the two of them in the box once again. He dared a glance down, trying to get a look at the man out the corner of his eyes, seeing wild red curls and a button up shirt that had the top two popped open, a tie poking out the corners of a messenger bag. 

He reached up for his headphones. 

The elevator came to a stop. 

The shorter man moved forward, heading out to their floor, and Craig followed behind, hand dropping back down to grab the laundry bags.

He walked past the redhead as the man fiddled with his keys, reaching his own apartment with the knowledge at Token wasn't far behind. He glanced over as he fished his keys out his pocket and-! 

His neighbour was already looking at him, door open just a crack. Something from inside the apartment made him jump and look up, and he spared one last small and the world's smallest wave in Craig's direction before he disappeared. 

Maybe he was a little awkward. 

\--

He didn't actually intend to call the sex line again. It was happening before he really had a chance to think about it, toying with the phone in his hand as he laid back on the plush pillows on his bed, staring at the starry ceiling above. He couldn't sleep. He felt too _awake_. Too much energy coursing round his body that he hadn't managed to get rid of that day. 

He tried to sort out the problem on his own, with one arm over his face as he summoned thoughts and memories to his brain, the smallest amount of lube covering his palm in hopes that it would help speed things up. 

It just wasn't happening. 

He searched for the number in his call history; an easy feat considering he was more of a texter than a caller. He didn't have to wait long before a sweet feminine voice was coming through the speaker, all giggles and sex in her tone. 

_ "Hey there cutie," _the woman greeted. _"Thanks for calling us! We've missed you."_

He frowned at the ceiling, wondering if they guessed most of their callers had been back multiple times. "Hey, uh, is Mike available?" 

A moment pause that she filled with a thoughtful hum. _"He certainly is! You wanna speak to him again, Craig?"_

He stopped. "You...keep record of my name?" 

_ "We don't want any of our callers to think we'd forget them!" _She explained, almost scandalised at the thought. _"We remember all of them, you included."_

"So, you log everyone who calls, even if they never call back?" 

_ "Is this...uh...I'm not sure that's really something I can..."  _

He cursed under his breath, squeezing his eyes shut. "Sorry, I just-yeah, Mike. Can I speak to Mike?" 

_ "Of course!" _The cheerful tone was back. _"How long do you want him for?"_

"The-the one with-five minutes and extension?" 

_ "Of course, sugar! I can get that sorted for you, no problem! Do you have your payment details?"  _

He excused himself for a moment as he scrambled about to grab his wallet from his jeans, completely forgetting to have it ready to go. The woman took the details, thanking him profusely and letting him know she was connecting him through, the line falling silent as her voice vanished. Craig sucked in a breath, mentally steeling himself for what was about to happen, asking if he was really sure that _this_ was what he wanted to spend his money on and-? 

_ "Hey, Craig?"  _

A smile blossomed on his lips. "Hey. Mike." 

_ "You called me back."  _

"Well, yeah," Craig shrugged it off. "I said I would. Not that you would..." 

_ Have any reason to remember something like that.  _

_ "Not everyone who says they will do," _Mike pointed out, an amused tilt to his voice. _"I'm glad you did though."_

The burst of pride, despite his better judgement. "Thanks." 

_ "Are you on your own this time, or is your friend still hovering in the bleachers?"  _

He was taken by surprise once again. The operator girl having log of his details made sense, of course it did, what better way to make customers feel special than to actually keep track of who they were? But this... 

_ "Craig?"  _

He was jolted out his thoughts. "You remember that?" 

_ "Well, yeah," _he made it sound like it was no big deal. _"'Course I do. Should I not?"_

"No!" he scowled up at the glow in the dark stars. "It's not. I just wasn't expecting it." 

_ "I guess you were pretty memorable."  _

"For eight whole minutes of your life." 

Mike gave an ugly snort of laughter that left Craig a little weak. _"I didn't remember that bit. You could've embellished the details."_

"I'm paying you; you'd have to go along with it." 

_ "Usually people like the ego boost."  _

Craig rolled to his side, credit card still in his lube-free hand. "What do people usually ask for?" 

_ "You still don't know what you want?"  _

He shook his head. Then flushed from embarrassment at the action. 

Mike seemed to get the idea. _"I'm not usually allowed to divulge that information."_

"Right." 

_ "But..." _he was silent for three seconds. _"Usually they take the lead. It's not often I get the chance."_

"I guess that makes sense." 

_ "Sometimes people just call to chat too."  _

He sat on that one, debating it over in his head. But he was never much of a talker. Comfortable silences and odd jibes were more his style. 

_ "Why did you call?"  _

The question was honest, lacking his usual sultry tone. "I can't sleep. I have too much energy." 

_ "I see," _a teasing tilt. _"Not just for small talk then?"_

"Uh...no. Sorry." 

_ "Don't apologise to me," _Mike's voice dropped deeper. Deep enough that Craig squirmed in his spot. _"You know I'm happy to help you...get rid of some excess energy."_

A shiver ran down his spine. "I'd like that." 

_ "Can I ask you something, Craig?"  _

"Yeah?" 

_ "How far are you comfortable with me going?"  _

He thought on the question. "I can-I don't know. I'll tell you when." 

_ "Good. Where are you right now?"  _

“I’m in my room. In my bed.” 

_ “Do I get the pleasure of undressing you again?”_ came the teasing voice on the other end. 

It sent a fire sparking through his veins and he did his best to remember to play along. “Yeah, you do.” 

A noise that was nothing short of a purr came through the speaker. _“Start with your pants. Let’s not waste any time, yeah? You can leave your shirt for today.”_

He shivered at the tone and took Mike’s instructions, slipping his pyjamas down to his knees. 

_ “Your underwear too, while you’re at it.”  _

He felt the air hit his steadily growing erection and let out a breath, feeling far too exposed. 

_ “There’s a sight I don’t think I could ever get tired of. Tell me, do you have lube to hand?”  _

“I do,” he confirmed, automatically beginning to wander over to the bedside drawer where it still sat on top. 

_ “Get hold of it for me. You’re going to need it.”  _

He laid back against the bedsheets as Mike began, soft voice guiding him through actions like before. He turned his eyes to look at the phone as if it would help him remember that the man wasn’t actually there with him; keep himself grounded in reality. 

But the scene that Mike was creating for him was very, very convincing. 

_ “I want you to prepare yourself, the same way you’d prepare me,” _Mike coaxed through the other end. _“I want you to start with one finger, slowly, and when I tell you I’m ready, you’ll add a second.”_

“Okay.” 

_ “That’s a good boy for me, Craig. Tell me when you’ve started, won’t you?”  _

The words drifted from the speaker into his ears, encouraging him to roll onto his side to work. He reached round, covering his eyes with his arm as if it would help hide the embarrassment he felt in that moment, with someone on the other end talking him through pleasuring himself. 

The desire and overwhelming sensation that Mike dragged out of him overshadowed any shame. He listened carefully as Mike told him he was ready to be stretched and inserted a second finger, curling round the rim before dipping in and joining the other. The lubricant was cold, soothing on the burning sensation that happened when he began to move his fingers, back and forth, in and out. 

_ “Put lube on your other hand, too,” _Mike instructed. _“For when you bring yourself off.”_

“Both?” 

_ “It’s the closest you’re going to get to feeling like you’re fucking me without me actually being there.” _

He didn’t need much more encouragement other than that. 

When he came, it was with a grunt and a moan, the loudest he thought he’d ever heard himself get when he was on his own, soiling across his bedsheet without being prepared for it once again. It left him panting, groaning as he withdrew his fingers with a _pop_ and fumbled to search for a tissue to wipe down with. 

“How was that?” Mike purred down the other end, though his voice shook with a small tremor of amusement. “To your satisfaction?” 

“You’re uh,” he fell onto his side again, eyes slipping closed as he basked in the afterglow of his orgasm. “You’re pretty good at this...” 

He didn’t notice how slurred his speech was getting, or how heavy his limbs were. He didn’t really register much at all. It wouldn’t be until the next morning when he woke to see his credit card on the floor and his phone on his pillow he realised he'd fallen asleep on the man. 

\--

Living with people wasn't always easy. There were times the trio wished that Jimmy could've lived with them also, but the man had his life together much more than they did and had got a home with his older-woman-lady-friend. But there were times that Craig wished he didn't live with any of them and was glad that there wasn't another person to argue with. 

"Purple's girly." 

Token groaned at his statement. "Seriously, Craig?! That's what you're hung up on?" 

"It is!" He huffed out. "You want to hang some lavender around as well to make it smell nice?" 

"Purple is a colour! Colours are genderless!" 

"I'm sick of this," he spat, tearing his phone from his pocket and flicking through his call history in a fit of rage. "We need a third opinion." 

"Clyde said he didn't want anything to do with it. Also, you know if he was picking he'd choose novelty ones, is that really what you want?" 

"I'm not calling Clyde." 

Token's nose scrunched up. "Who the hell are you-?" 

He held up a finger as the ringing stopped, a familiar sounding voice echoing through on the other line. 

_ "Hey there, thanks for calling. How're you feeling?"  _

He wasted no time. "Is Mike available?" 

_ "Let me just patch you through, cutie. You want the five minutes and extension again?"  _

"Yes." 

_ "Alrighty! Gimme a couple minutes, sugar."  _

Craig glared across at Token as he got put on hold, who threw his hands in the air in response and began muttering something under his breath. One thing he'd always respected about Token was that despite constantly trying to avoid getting dragged into their bullshit, when he did get dragged in he was pretty level headed about it. 

The line clicked. He turned his attention back to his phone.

_ "Hey, I'm so glad you ca-!"  _

"Mike," Craig cut off the rambling before it started. "I need your opinion on something." 

The alluring tone dropped. _"...Uh, okay?"_

"What's your favourite colour?" 

There was a pause on the other end, Token staring him down with disapproval through the whole thing. _"Green."_

"He said blue," Craig informed Token. "We should go with the blue one." 

"First of all? This is dumb. I can't believe you're calling that sex-line for an opinion on what colour curtains we should have in our living room." 

"Well we weren't settling it just the two of us." 

_ "I didn't say blue, Craig," _Mike scolded, voice a lot more level and a little higher when he wasn’t trying to get Craig off. 

While Craig was distracted thinking about the difference, Token lunged forward for the phone, knocking it out of Craig's hand and onto the couch. Craig grappled for it, but Token was built heavier than he was and pressed forward to turn on the loud speaker. 

"Hey!" Token called out. "So, did you really say blue?" 

_ "No, I said green."  _

"You liar!" Token glared. "We're not getting blue!" 

"We are!" Craig insisted. "Green's closer to blue than it is purple!" 

"Blue would make the room look too dark! You probably want navy!" 

"I don't care! Purple sucks ass!" 

_ "...What the hell are you talking about?"  _

Token huffed from his position on top of Craig. "We're picking curtains for our living room." 

_ "And...the options are purple and blue?"  _

"Yes, they are." 

_ "What colour's your couch?"  _

Craig huffed, elbowing Token in the stomach to try get the bloke off him. "It's black. We have a black leather couch." 

"Yeah, so why would we get _dark_ blue curtains?" 

"Better than purple!" 

_ "Well, what colour is your carpet?"  _

They looked down at the floor, Token finally replying. "It's...I mean, we have laminate flooring." 

_ "You don't have a rug or anything?"  _

"Nope." 

_ "Furniture?"  _

"Uh, mostly black." 

_ "Walls?"  _

"Magnolia." 

There was a sigh from Mike. _"Okay. Do you want colour in the living room?"_

Token winced. "I mean...Craig started it." 

"I did not!" 

"You did. You said blue first, just because it's your favourite colour." 

"Well, yeah." 

"So, I like purple." 

_ "Why don't you just compromise?"  _

The pair fell silent, turning to the phone sat on the chair. 

_ "You know like, just get a lighter grey. It won't be too dark, cause it won't just be more black, but it's neither of those colours and it goes with the rest of the room, right? You can just...each get a cushion or something for the sofa to get your pop of colour. One blue, one purple."  _

Craig felt a surge of pride, turning to Token. "I knew this was a good idea." 

"Shut up," Token glared down at his flatmate. "What was this guy's name again?" 

"Mike." 

"Mike," Token spoke. "Thank you for your help. I'm sorry to waste your time like this." 

_ "It's fine. I did-uh-I mean-I kinda guessed you'd want the extension, so..."  _

"Yes. Charge him extra." 

"Hey!" 

"He deserves it." 

There was a low chuckle from the other end. _"Thanks. Is there...anything else?"_

Token finally relented and stood, moving over to the window to signal that he was leaving the conversation. 

Craig finally grasped for his phone, taking it off loud speaker and sitting up properly. "That's everything. Thanks. I'll speak to you later." 

_ "I'll look forward to it," _there was an honesty in his voice that Craig hoped wasn't faked. _"Who knows what it'll be for?"_

"I'll try keep on track." 

Token glanced over his shoulder with a disbelieving look. 

"Later, Mike." 

_ "Bye, Craig."  _

He finally hung up the phone, dropping it back in his pocket and turning for the kitchen as Token continued to stare him down. 

"You know," the man called out after him. "Usually it's ill-advised to fall for the guy you're paying for sex from." 

"Fuck off, asshole." 

The man held up his hands in defence, but thankfully dropped it. 

It was a ridiculous suggestion. He wasn't falling for anyone. 

Mike had been right though, as they were hanging up the grey curtains a couple of days later, Clyde lounging on the couch as they did so, with his head on one blue square cushion and his feet on a matching purple one. The pair took a step back once they had them up and smiled as they admired their handiwork. 

"I like it," Token confirmed. "They're pretty nice." 

Craig nodded in agreement. "They are. Good choice." 

Clyde spoke up from the couch. "I don't know why we didn't just get blinds." 

They exchanged a look before Craig excused himself to his room, refusing to take part in this conversation for any longer than he had to. 

Sometimes he really, really hated living with people. 

\--

Maybe it was a bit of a cruel joke, but no one could deny it wasn't funny as fuck. At least he couldn't. He lay on his bed waiting after Mercedes patched him through, enjoying the anonymity he had from getting a new phone and new number. It proved his theory of how they linked the number to an account in order to identify people when they rang. A pretty clever technique. 

_ "Hey good lookin', thanks for calling."  _

The tone was undeniably different to usual. Often when Craig rang Mike would have a wavering laughter in his tone, something that happened more with the more he rang. This time it was pure sex, and a weakness to it that implied someone who was smaller. It was an image that had him hesitating for a moment before he remembered what he was doing. 

"Hey," he lowered his voice in an attempt to disguise it, in case he was recognised. "You're the one who's gonna suck my cock?" 

The moan that came through the other end was more pitiful than usual. _"Yes, please. If you'll let me."_

"I can think of something else you can suck first." 

_ "Give me anything."  _

The ease which Mike had slipped into the role was incredible. Craig smirked as he stretched his legs high above him in order to look at his feet. "I want you to suck my toes." 

There was a rustling before he heard the tell-tale noise of slurping. His eyes widened a moment as he realised Mike was actually sucking on something and had to stop himself breaking out of character with amusement. 

He bit back his laughter, dropping his voice lower. “Yeah, just like that. I want you rubbing up against my feet.” 

There was another soft moan, and a more feverish sucking noise from the other end. 

“Just rubbing all over while you call me daddy.” 

_ “Please,” _the voice was shaky, breathless. _“Daddy.”_

He couldn’t hold it back any longer. It came out as one long snort into the receiver before he was wheezing on the bed, as if his lungs wanted to make up for the laughter he’d been holding back. “Ho-holy shit dude,” he managed to choke out. 

_ “Craig?!” _Mike screeched. _“You asshole!”_

“I’m sorry,” he calmed down, wiping a stray tear from his eye. “I’m sorry, but that was beautiful.” 

_ “I can’t believe you! Give me one good reason I shouldn’t just hang up right now?”  _

“I mean, I paid for thirty, so…” 

_ “Yeah, and I’ll still get that. Try again, _daddy _.”_

Craig smirked, a wave of confidence shooting through him. “Hey, don’t make fun of people who like daddies like that. That’s mean.” 

_ “You started it!” _the voice dropped again. _“Or maybe you’re one of them.”_

He blew a raspberry at the suggestion. “Oh, please. As if.” 

The voice that Mike followed through with was totally fake, but he went into it with such gusto that Craig almost believed it. _“I don’t mind, if you’d like. I’d be willing to do that for you. I’d be willing to do anything for you, daddy.”_

His throat ran dry. His brain stopped. He had no words. 

Mike waited, but he gave nothing, and after what felt like an entire minute of silence he finally asked: _“…Did I just turn you on?”_

“No!” Craig defended. “You did not!” 

_ “You’re certainly getting there.”  _

“I just-!” he growled. “You can’t call me that. I’m definitely _not_ daddy material.” 

_ “You could be mine.”  _

“Stop it with that voice.” 

_ “Why? Is it making you uncomfortable?”  _

“Yes.” 

_ “In a bad way, or in a good way?”  _

"Trust me, I am not a daddy," he persisted, ignoring the question. "I don't have nearly enough authority and stuff to be one." 

There was a thoughtful hum. _"What are you like then?"_

"I dunno." 

_ "Describe yourself to me."  _

He rolled onto his front, looking over to his wardrobe that held a mirror as if it would help him. "You know, I'm just pretty...average, I guess." 

_ "You've got a nice voice."  _

He snorted. "Don't lie to me. I've been told I have a nice face, but not a nice voice." 

_ "It's grown on me."  _

He felt a flush rise on his face. He tried to get back on topic. "I'm...I wear a lot of black. And I'm in my twenties, so I don't have that...sophistication of an older man. And I wear a lot of hoodies and leather jackets." 

_ "Why am I not surprised?"  _

He shrugged. "Sorry to ruin your daddy-dream." 

_ "Don't apologise," _Mike had a lightness to his tone that left Craig imagining a playful smile. _"I think I like how you sound better."_

"Flattery gets you everywhere." 

Mike laughed openly at that one. _"So, you paid for thirty. What do you want to do with the rest of your time?"_

He rolled onto his back again and stared up at his ceiling. "Well, I might not be a daddy...but I'm sure there are other things you could call me." 

\--

He wasn't surprised when it happened if he was honest. It had happened thousands of times before and would probably happen a thousand more times still. He and Token were on the couch watching the news when Clyde slid into the room, wide grin on his face as he finger gunned the pair. 

"How are my best bros doing tonight?" 

Token looked at Craig. Craig looked at Token. 

Token stood up and began to leave. 

"Wait, dude, where're you going?" 

"You've got that tone." 

"What tone?" 

"That tone you use when you've had a really dumb idea." 

Clyde huffed out at the accusation, but Token had stopped walking. "It's not dumb!" 

"I'll take your word for it." 

"Whatever, I don't need you anyway. This has to do with Craig!" 

Craig groaned. Loudly. 

"What? What's the matter?" 

"I hate it when you have dumb ideas to do with me." 

"It's not-! Goddamn it you guys, I'm being serious." 

They spoke in unison: "We know." 

Clyde took his place on the floor, the other side of the coffee table to the couch. Token slowly returned to his seat with a doubtful look on his face. 

"I've just been talking to our lovely neighbour-!" 

"Which one?" 

"Bebe's talking to you again?" 

Clyde glared. "Yes, she's talking to me again, _Craig_ , but that's not who I was talking about. I was talking about...Kyle!" 

Token raised a brow. 

Craig frowned. "Who the fuck is Kyle?" 

"Oh my fuck holy shit, you don’t know his name?" 

Colour began raising on Craig's cheeks as he realised who his best friend was talking about. 

Token snorted. "You've been doing the Awkward Shuffle around the dude and you never got his name?" 

"I never needed his name!" 

"Well, it's Kyle," Clyde supplied. "You're welcome. Now you have a name to the face for when you-!" 

"Continue with your idea so I can reject it already." 

"Alright, fine. So, I was just talking to Kyle who, as it turns out, has a cat!" 

Craig narrowed his eyes. 

"And I thought to myself, you know what would be a great conversation starter?" 

"I'm not doing it." 

Clyde ignored him. "If you got his cat something nice! Like a toy or something!" 

"I refuse." 

Token tilted his head. "That's...actually not a bad idea." 

"See? Thank you!" 

Craig foamed. "Why would I have toys for his cat? How is that not super creepy?" 

"You could say you got given them or won them in a work raffle or something?” Token suggested.

Clyde clicked a finger at Token. "Genius." 

"I am not okay with this." 

"Come on, dude! What have you got to lose? Are you telling me that you don't want to get to know Kyle a little better?" 

"Yes!" Craig spat out. "That is what I'm saying!" 

He was lying. But he wasn't going to give up that easily. 

"I'll even get you the toys, please, I'm desperate here." 

"Why are you so obsessed with my love-life? First you get me to ring a fucking sex line and now you want to try set me up with our neighbour?" 

Token's face shifted. He leant forward, a firmness in his stubbled jaw. Craig knew that expression. That was the expression that meant he had lost already. When the pair of them teamed up and Token was actually invested, they were pretty unstoppable. 

Craig was also a little weak-willed when it came to them. Partly because he cared, but mostly because it was a lot of effort to fight back. 

"I'll get the toys," Token promised. "I pass a pet shop on my way to work. I'll get something nice too, none of the cheap shit." 

Clyde's face blossomed with a grin. "Yes! Let's do it!" 

"I am so not okay with this." 

"You don't have a choice," Token turned the harsh gaze to him directly. "As much as I appreciate the fact that Mike solved our decoration problem, you really need to flirt with someone who you aren't paying." 

"Yeah, dude, it's kinda lame." 

Craig fixed his glare on Clyde. "Dude!" 

"What?" 

"That was _your_ idea!" 

"Yeah but, like, I thought you'd use it maybe once or twice. Not make a friend or whatever you're doing." 

"It's settled, Craig. We're getting you cat toys and you're gonna give them to Kyle." 

“You can’t make me!” 

Token raised a brow. “You wanna bet?” 

He really had lost. 

It was how he ended up standing outside the redhead’s flat the next day, staring at the number plate screwed to the door as he ran through a variety of way to tell him that he just casually won the prizes at work. No big deal. He’d seen the cat around, because he showed an interest like that, in a totally non-creepy way. 

Thinking about it was getting him nowhere except a steady slope downwards into insanity. 

He gave a knock on the door that was probably harsher than intended. He counted to five, shaking his knees about to try get rid of some excess energy and convince himself that this _wasn't_ the completely awful idea that it actually was and it was totally okay for him to do this and that he shouldn't turn around and bolt and-?! 

The door to the flat opened, revealing a blonde man on the other side. 

Shit. 

Kyle wasn’t blonde. 

"Uh..." 

The freckled cheeks rose as a boyish smirk crossed the mans' face, one hand rising to run through his sandy blonde hair as he spoke. "Hey, what's up?" 

"I-?!" Shit. Shit, he totally didn't plan for this. Why didn't they _plan_ for this?! "Is Kyle...?" 

"Nah, he's working right now. I can let him know you called in when he finishes if you want?" 

"Uh, no, that's-fine." 

The blonde raised a brow, blue eyes flickering from Craig's face down to the bag in his hands. "If you’re sure, dude?" 

"Here." 

The man jolted as Craig shoved the plastic bag forward. 

"Cat toys. I won them at work. You have a cat, right?" 

"Yeah, we've got a cat. Lil' Cokey." 

"Want them?" 

The man took the bag eagerly, diving nose first in. "Holy shit, you serious?" 

"Yeah. I don't have any use for them." 

A wide smile was sent in his direction. "Dude, thanks a bunch! She's gonna love them!" 

"Yeah, whatever." 

"You want somethin’ for them? We got, like, food and stuff?” 

"Nah, don't worry about it." 

"You sure?" 

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll see you around." 

The blonde nodded happily and turned back to the contents of the bag as Craig marched off down the hall, feeling a red flush run through his body. 

"I'm Kenny, by the way!" 

He raised a hand. "Hi Kenny." 

The sound of his apartment door was the end of that conversation. 

He knew it was silly, but he couldn't help feeling a little rejected by the whole ordeal. It had taken up so much energy to just work up the courage to go around and to not even get it right left his mood plummeting down. 

\--

He waited till he knew that Clyde and Token were definitely out for a prolonged period of time. It was quite late, with Clyde off at some party and Token out for drinks with his work colleagues. Clyde had invited him to tag along, but he played it off as too tired to have to socialise with his energetic sports friends. It was a pretty believable excuse. 

Their concern over his friendship with the sex-line operator was beginning to bother him, though whether that was because it was untrue or too close to home he wasn’t sure. Whatever it was, it was enough to make him a little more cautious about calling. 

But it didn’t stop him. 

He went through the usual with the lady who took his payment before he was connected through, wandering around his room feeling a little impatient. The answer surprised him. 

_ “Craig?”_ Mike’s voice questioned. _“This isn’t your usual call time.”_

“Do I have a usual call time?” 

_ “Definitely. You absolutely have a usual call time.”  _

He shrugged his shoulders as he flopped back onto the bed. “I guess I’m a man of routine.” 

The man on the other end gave a familiar laugh that put Craig at ease. _“I guess so. Not today, though?”_

“I had to wait till I was in the flat on my own,” Craig admitted. 

Mike’s voice dropped lower at the words in the way it always did when he was getting ready to get Craig off. _“Ah, of course, those pesky flatmates of yours.”_

“Pesky’s one word for it.” 

A low chuckle, the hint of his work voice breaking. _“I’ve actually been...thinking about what I was going to do with you, when you called next.”_

“Really?” 

_ “Really,”_ Mike confirmed. _“There’s something I do with people, that I thought of, but...maybe I’d rather this time the roles were reversed.”_

“Alright, what is it?” 

_ “I want you to suck my cock.”  _

The frankness of the words sent a spark down his spine, excitement pooling in his groin. “How...does that work?” 

_ “Do you think you’d like to try it?” _Mike asked instead of answering. _“If you do, I can talk you through it. You can change your mind at any time.”_

“I’ll try it. Yeah, I would.” 

_ “Say it for me,” _the voice was teasing through the speaker on his phone. _“Say you want to suck my cock.”_

“I want...” he swallowed a lump in his throat, trying not to sound as awkward as he felt as the words passed his lips. “I want to suck your cock.” 

_ “ _Mmm, needs a little work, maybe, but I think I can work with that...let’s start with clothes, shall we? But I only think it’s fair if I’m undressing that you do too.”_ _

__

Mike always started with his clothes. 

__

He was dutiful in his words, one item at a time, describing what he was doing on the other end. He chided Craig for taking too long, the words coming through loud and clear enough to get Craig at half mast. 

__

_ “Come on, Craig, here I am starting already, and you’re not even undressed?”_ a teasing click of the tongue. _“You gonna make me just stroke myself all night, or are you going to put that mouth to use?”_

__

“No, I’m - I’m ready.” 

__

_ “Alright,”_ Mike’s voice too on a slightly more encouraging tone. _“I want you to take two fingers, and I want you to put them in your mouth. I want you to imagine it’s me, and that you’re sucking my cock, not your fingers.”_

__

“I...can do that.” 

__

_ “Make sure you stick close to your phone. Don’t be afraid of making some noise for me, now. You know how hearing you drives me wild.”  _

__

Craig felt a flush of embarrassment run through him as his two fingers settled on his tongue, his knees knocking together and a chuckle coming through from the receiver. 

__

_ "I need to hear it," _the voice poked at his pride. _"How else will I know you're doing what I want you to?"_

__

Craig let out a groan of annoyance, pulling his fingers out for a moment to glare at the phone. "Can't you just take my word for it?" 

__

_ "That's not how it works today, Craig. I let you be so quiet all the time. But tonight? I want to hear you."  _

__

He swallowed a lump in his throat, sucking heavily on his fingers and grimacing at the slurping noise it made. It sounded ugly to his own ears, and part of him was ready to ask to stop. 

__

But then Mike made a shuddering gasp, a soft moan, not like the noises Craig had heard before. _"Perfect. That's perfect."_

__

Craig moved closer to the receiver, lips parting slightly around his fingers as he let out a groan, this time of pleasure instead of annoyance. 

__

_ "You're so good to me. So good at taking my cock."  _

__

He shivered at the words and allowed his eyes to slip shut as he lost himself in the moment, suckling on the fingers in his mouth and enjoying the hot, wet feeling. He imagined Mike's own fingers and shoved them in a little deeper, more aggressive, _more everything._

__

A pained whine broke free from his throat. Mike growled in response. 

__

_ "Fuck, Craig," _he sounded almost breathless. _"Just like that. Are you ready? Are they wet enough for you?"_

__

"Yeah," his words were slurred round the fingers in his mouth. "Ready." 

__

_ "Good. Let me put some more lube on them before I stretch you out."  _

__

"No," he choked on the word as he rolled onto his front, ass high in the air as he moved his hand down to his waiting hole. "Now. No waiting." 

__

_ "Craig..."  _

__

"Please," he whined out, nuzzling into the pillow below. "I want it now." 

__

_ "Start with one finger then," _the voice breathed. _"And if it gets too hot, let me know."_

__

He did as he was told, pushing in one finger and wiggling to get a better angle, feeling a spike of excitement twitch through him as he did so. He let out soft noises into the sheets as he began to finger himself, quick to add a second finger, only pausing to tell Mike that was what he was doing before he began to scissor the fingers apart, filling himself up fully with a spark of pain. 

__

_ "Shit, Craig," _Mike's voice was different. Odd. Enough to break him out of his revere to look at the phone on the bed, heavy breaths coming through from the other end. _"You drive me so wild."_

__

"Tell me." 

__

_ "Tell you-what?"  _

__

"Tell me what you're doing," Craig demanded as he buried his fingers deeper through the burning sensation. "Tell me what you're doing while I finger myself for you." 

__

_ "Fuck-Craig-I-?!"  _

__

It was almost as though this time Craig was the one in charge, and Mike was on the other end, left to his whims. 

__

_ "I'm stroking my cock," _he got some composure back as he spoke, the very words making Craig's erection twitch. _"Thinking about how warm the lube around it is. Wondering if you'd feel just as warm around me."_

__

"I'd feel better," he bit out, far too possessively. "I'd feel better." 

__

A chuckle. _"I know you would. Fuck, I want to feel you so bad."_

__

"Yes," Craig hissed out, pumping one hand along his shaft. "Yes, be inside me. Please." 

__

_ "You sound so good when you beg for me. When you beg for my cock."  _

__

"Fuck, Mike, I'm getting close." 

__

_ "Are you going to cum for me, baby?" _The voice was stuttering through the speaker. _"Get your sheets all messy for me?"_

__

"Yes-fuck-yes!" 

__

_ "You're so good. You sound so good."  _

__

He cried out unlike any other time, feeling a strange urge to make a scene like he hadn't before. Like he was trying to get a response, to rile up the man on the other end the same way he'd been riled up so many times. 

__

His world went dark as he squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in the pillow, spilling out over his sheets with his fingers buried in his ass and his hand wrapped round his cock. He gasped for breath as his orgasm washed over him and passed, leaving him sensitive to the touch and whimpering as he pulled his fingers out and wiped his hands on the bedsheets, rolling onto his back and struggling for air. 

__

_ “Oh-holy-shit, oh no.”  _

__

The euphoria promptly ended. “What is it? Mike? Are you alright?” 

__

_ “Shit,” _he swore down the line. _“I have to go.”_

__

“What?” 

__

_ “I’m sorry.”  _

__

Craig scowled at the phone. “I still have ten minutes left.” 

__

_ “Wha-oh-oh shit, you do-fuck-!”  _

__

“Mike, just tell me what’s wrong.” 

__

_ “I-I can’t. It's not allowed.”  _

__

“What, is it like, breaking a rule or something?” 

__

A humourless laugh. _“Yeah. Sort of. It’s breaking my rule.”_

__

“Well what can I do?” 

__

_ “Stop being so good about it. You should be mad!”  _

__

“Why?! You won’t tell me!” 

__

_ “Because I just came all over my hand!”  _

__

He was stunned into silence. 

__

_ “Oh shit-shit, shit, shit-I’m so sorry, Craig.”  _

__

“Dude,” he tried not to laugh with the relief that flowed through him. “You don’t need to apologise.” 

__

_ “But it’s-I dunno, it’s like, crossing a boundary or whatever!” _the man insisted. _“I don’t do this with clients.”_

__

“You don’t?” 

__

_ “No!”  _

__

Craig bit down on his lip, choosing his next words carefully. This was a side of Mike he’d never had to witness. “I guess I should be flattered then.” 

__

_ “Flattered?”  _

__

“Yeah,” he fell back against the bed sheets. “I mean, it’s really…hot.” 

__

A pause that was far too long. _“You think so?”_

__

“Definitely. Besides if you’re gonna do this every day, you might as well get something out of it.” 

__

_ “Thanks, dude. For not being upset.”  _

__

“No way. For all I know you’re just doing this to stroke my ego, get some more money out of me.” 

__

A laugh that was so genuine it sent a flutter through his body. _“I don’t think I’d need to go that far to get more money out of you.”_

__

“Hey!” 

__

_ “But…thanks, Craig. I’m glad it’s not weird.”  _

__

Craig flopped back down on the bed as a smile took over his face. “It’s not. I promise.” 

__

The last of the ten minutes was spent with stilted conversation that left him with a pounding heart to go with his throbbing ass. 

__

\--

__

When his neighbour came knocking on his door, he wasn’t expecting it. He stood there awkwardly staring down at the slightly shorter male, charming smile and bright eyes framed by freckled cheeks. It was the blonde one, Kenny, who had been in when Kyle hadn’t been, and accepted the cat toys that his own flatmates talked him into buying. 

__

It was a stark reminder of the whole incident and the embarrassment he had about it just made him annoyed to see the blonde's face. 

__

“Hey,” Kenny greeted with a wide smile. “It’s Craig, right?” 

__

Craig furrowed a brow as he stood in the doorway. “Yeah. What do you want?” 

__

“Straight to the point, huh?”

__

He raised a brow. 

__

The blonde cleared his throat. “I just wanted to say thank you, for the cat toys. Cokey really loved them.” 

__

“Oh,” Craig shuffled his weight from foot to foot. “No problem.” 

__

“You’re not much of a talker, are you?” 

__

“I guess?” he folded his arms across his chest as he tried to think past his initial embarrassment. “I’m glad your cat liked the toys.” 

__

Kenny’s smile turned lopsided with amusement. “I know you said you didn’t want anything for them, but if there’s anything we can help you with, just let us know. Me or Kyle. Or, Stan too, but we’re better.” 

__

“Right, sure. I – uh – I'll let you know if I run out of sugar or something, dude.” 

__

There was a beat of silence. He raised his brow expectantly. 

__

Kenny raised a hand with a wave. “Well, catch you later then!” 

__

He watched the blonde disappear back next door, frown forming on his face as he watched Kenny disappear into his flat, the door apparently already half open. Maybe he’d put something in the way to stop the door closing. 

__

He wrote the friendly neighbour off, and wished that maybe it had been Kyle who had decided to come and thank him for his thoughtful gift. 

__

It was another few days before he saw his neighbours again. He was heading down to the communal laundry room with his duffle bag and his phone in his hands, riding down the elevator and going about his day like normal. 

__

He put his phone away as he got closer to the door to the room, and shuffled the duffle bag on his shoulder, stopping once he saw the door was ajar with light pouring out the crack in the door. He scowled as he got closer to the laundry room with the certainty that it was the usual time. He liked Wednesday lunch time because no one else was ever using the room, and he got to do his laundry in peace. He didn't want other people there. 

__

He pushed the door with his shoulder, peering round to see who was in there. If it was one-o-five he was not sticking around. He couldn't stand the cunt. 

__

It wasn't. 

__

He fumbled as he saw a familiar mess of ginger curls standing at one of the washing machines. There was a laundry bin, the contents being poured into the machine, and Craig sucked in a breath to prepare himself for the awkward exchange that was about to follow. 

__

But then Kyle began to move. 

__

He reached for the back of his t-shirt, pulling it over the mess of red hair. The pale expanse of his back was exposed as he pulled the shirt over his head, muscles moving with his arms before he dropped the shirt in the machine. Craig had imagined what the man might look like under his t-shirts and work attire, but actually seeing the pale skin and freckled shoulders was something else entirely. 

__

He began to turn and Craig found himself dipping back, mostly covered by the door as Kyle dropped the empty bin by his feet. He leant back against the machine as he toed off his shoes and pulled off his socks, dropping them in the machine along with the rest of his laundry. There was a second where his hand seemed to hesitate over the button of his jeans, as if debating it, before green eyes flickered up. 

__

Craig ducked back, heart in his throat as he realised he may have been caught. He glanced down the hallway, the knowledge that there was a half-naked man in the room behind him...

__

"Stan? Is that you?" 

__

He bolted. 

__

He ran down the corridor as quickly as he could while making as little noise as he could. He went straight for the stairs, not daring to wait for the elevator, and began to climb up to the first floor. 

__

By the time he made it back to his apartment his heart was racing in his chest and he gasped for the breath he didn't realise he was holding. 

__

He dropped the bags in the middle of the living room before heading into his own room, searching round for something to occupy his brain with. He needed something- _anything-_ to get the image of Kyle undressing out of his head. 

__

He was getting too warm. Too hot and bothered. 

__

Ten minutes was how long it took him to cave. 

__

He rang the number with a shaking hand, swearing under his breath as it began ringing and he waited for one of the girls to pick up. By the time she did he was already half hard with both excitement and shame of what was about to come. 

__

He rushed through the payment, forgetting to thank whichever girl it was he was talking to. He didn’t think about the fact they told him Mike was only clocked on for an hour and a half. He was never going to last that long anyway. He waited on hold for ten seconds before Mike picked up and it felt like the longest ten seconds of his life. 

__

_ "Craig, I'm glad you called."  _

__

"Uh, yeah, hey," he cleared his throat. "Me too." 

__

There were a few moments before Mike began to chuckle. _"You sound a bit flustered. You alright?"_

__

"Yeah I'm just-?!" 

__

_ "Have you already started?"  _

__

"Not-not yet," he denied. "I'm just...thinking about it." 

__

A laugh bubbled out of the man on the other end of the line, before his voice dropped into something sexual. _“Want to waste no time today then, huh?”_

__

“No, though I heard you’re not on for long, either.” 

__

_ “I have enough time for you,”_ he assured, and he sounded so genuine that it played with Craig’s heart. _“I’ll make sure to take care of you quickly. Maybe I should repay the favour from before?”_

__

“What...?” 

__

_ “Maybe I should be the one with the cock in my mouth, this time.”  _

__

The words sent a shiver down his spine. 

__

_ “I don’t mind if you’re a little rough, either,”_ Mike’s voice was low. Coated in honey and a promise. _“I can take it.”_

__

“I...are you sure?” 

__

_ “I’m sure. Come on, big boy,”_ there was that teasing tilt that caused Craig to chuckle, cheesy lines that made him feel so fond of the man on the end of the phone. _“Give it to me.”_

__

“You asked for it.” 

__

They went through the motions. Mike was ever the performer, blowing Craig’s attempt out the water – no pun intended. The noises he made over the phone were obscene, things that might’ve made Craig laugh if he wasn’t so into the fantasy of the man on his knees making those noises in real life. 

__

Except the person that Craig was picturing had a little more in the way of physical features this time than some of the other times. 

__

Because there was someone who had got him in this state in the first place. Fiery curls that begged for him to run his hands through. Green eyes that might look up at him as he tried to hold back. 

__

He didn’t manage to hold back. He raised his hips into his own lubed hand as Mike continued to coax him closer to orgasm, thrusting into the image in his mind of the man on his knees, sucking him off. 

__

“Oh-shit-!” he bit down on his tongue. 

__

_ “C’mon, Craig, what have I told you about being quiet?”_ Mike’s teasing voice asked. _“You can be loud for me...”_

__

“I-I’m-!” his hips bucked as his control slipped out through his fingers. 

__

“Oh shit, Kyle, I’m gonna-?!” 

__

His words were choked off as his orgasm hit him full force, flooding his senses and distracting him from the distinct lack of noise coming through his phone. He didn’t notice anything at all until a question cut through his post-orgasm haze. 

__

_ “Who’s Kyle?” _

__

It caught him off guard. The almost jealous tone in the man’s voice caught him off guard too, but he pushed past that and any guilt that surfaced, given that this was a service he was paying for, not an actual person he was seeing. 

__

“He’s...my neighbour,” he admitted. “Is...sorry, if I made you uncomfortable.” 

__

_ “No!”_ Mike was quick to backtrack, any strangeness in his tone disappearing. _“No, that’s not – it's just, you’ve never said anyone’s name before. Never mentioned anyone before. It took me by surprise, that there’s someone you’ve been thinking of.”_

__

“It’s not like I always think of him,” Craig admitted. “But he’s...he’s attractive, I guess. He’s just on my mind because I just saw him.” 

__

There was a shuffling on the other side before Mike requested: _“Tell me about him.”_

__

He licked his lips and pushed through the shame at what he was about to admit. “He lives in the next apartment over. I went downstairs to do my laundry and...he was in there already. I guess he’s the kind of guy who likes to do it all in one go, because he was stripping when I got there.” 

__

_ “What did he say?”  _

__

“He didn’t see me,” Craig confessed. “I saw him through a crack in the door. When he looked up I left.” 

__

_ “That’s why you sounded short of breath, when the call started?”  _

__

“Yeah. I ran up the stairs to get to our floor. I wasn’t - it’s not like I planned to call you when I got back. I waited and tried to forget about it, but...” 

__

_ “He must be pretty attractive, to get you all flustered like this.”  _

__

“Yeah, he is. Shit, I’m sorry, its really weird to...I bet I look like a right creep.”

__

_ “It’s not that weird, honestly. Your time is nearly up, though.” _

__

They said their goodbyes and Craig was left feeling ashamed of himself, and a little lost. A little lost because he swore Mike sounded put out by it all. He shrugged it off and figured that maybe it was because he’d said someone else’s name. He tried not to dwell to much on what that might mean. 

__

He didn’t want to get his hopes up. 

__

\--

__

Mike was ignoring him. 

__

Sure, it sounded dramatic. How could you prove that someone who you didn’t actually know was ignoring you? But he was sure of it. The evidence was there. The evidence that every time he rang, Mike was unavailable. 

__

The first time it happened, he was understanding. Declined the offer to speak to anyone else, and said he’d call back later. Mike had a life outside of his job as a sex-line operator. He might’ve even had a different job other than this. He was allowed to not be available at every hour of the day to indulge the whims of the public. 

__

The second time it happened, he got a little paranoid. He started to stew on it. If Mike reckoned that he had a regular time, that meant that Mike was always available at the same time. So why was it that twice he was unavailable both times? 

__

The third time? The third time he just lost his temper. 

__

_ “I’m sorry, cutie, but Mike’s not available today.”  _

__

Craig felt a hot rush of anger coarse through him. “What do you mean he’s not available?” 

__

_ “I mean he ain’t available. Either he’s not working, or he’s on call with someone else.”  _

__

“Can I wait for him to come off?” 

__

A frustrated sigh. _“Look, I get it, okay? It’s easy to get attached. But if we say someone ain’t available, they ain’t available, and you can either let us match you with a new guy, or you can hang up.”_

__

He grit his teeth, the words settling in fully. “You mean he doesn’t want to speak to me.” 

__

_ “If you’re gonna get pedantic about it…”  _

__

“Fine,” he huffed down the line, feeling the sting of rejection settle in. “Whatever. Thanks.” 

__

_ “So, you want-?”  _

__

He ended the call and tossed his phone on the bed, determined to spend the rest of his night alone. 

__

Clyde wasn’t having it. 

__

“Let’s go out!” 

__

Craig raised his brow from his place on the couch, legs stretched out and staring up at Clyde who had very purposefully put himself between Craig and the TV. “Why?” 

__

“Because it’s Friday!” Clyde declared. “We’re two young, strapping bachelors! The night is ours! Time to go to the bar and get beers!” 

__

“Hard pass.” 

__

“Oh, come on,” Clyde pleaded, getting down on his knees and shuffling towards the couch. “I know you don’t wanna like, talk about it and stuff, but you’ve been really bummed, and I thought maybe it’ll help if you were reminded of real people, and not dumb dumbs who can’t see a good thing when they’ve got it. Or, hear, I guess, but-?” 

__

“Clyde.” 

__

He snapped his mouth closed. 

__

“Thanks.” 

__

“What?” 

__

Craig glanced back up at the TV where his show was playing. “I...give me ten minutes to finish this episode, then I’ll get ready. Your pick.” 

__

“Really?!” 

__

“Yeah, really.” 

__

So they went out, drank a few bottles together and enjoyed their company, Token joining them near the end of the night. 

__

Even if it wasn’t some grand ‘find Craig a rebound’ thing that Clyde probably intended, Craig found it was better than that. More helpful. Getting out the flat and reminding himself of the people around him did help. Knowing that Clyde was still there, still trying to help him and support him emotionally despite his clear dislike for it was nice. 

__

Token took him by the shoulder at one point, smile on his face as he said. “Thanks for coming out tonight. Clyde’s been worried. We both have, honestly.” 

__

“I’m sorry,” Craig muttered into his drink. “For worrying you. It’s...fucked up.” 

__

“It’s not, it’s fine. We’re here for you, if you need it.” 

__

“Thanks, dude.” 

__

“Maybe just keep your mind occupied for a little while.” 

__

Clyde fell into the conversation, crease along his brow. “They say the first step to recovery is accepting the truth.” 

__

He sat there between them, mind mulling over the advice, and he very reluctantly accepted the truth. Quietly, to himself, in his mind. 

__

That he was a little heartbroken, and he had grown attached. 

__

\--

__

He was minding his own business, going about cleaning the house while Clyde and Token were out, trying to do what they’d advised him to do. He needed to keep his mind occupied. The first step was accepting the truth, but the second step was going to be accepting that it was over, and he wasn’t getting closure. 

__

Cleaning was always something of a stress relief for him. Not something he enjoyed, but something that helped put his mind to good use when he was struggling for things to do. It’s not like his other new hobby was going to be of any help; the last thing he wanted to do was ring another sex line. 

__

Eventually there was a knock at the door. Totally normal, nothing out the ordinary. He headed over, not bothering to check through the peep hole to see who it was. Just opened the door. 

__

He stood, eyes widening as they met green, red curls a little on the messy side. 

__

His neighbour. Kyle, his attractive neighbour, was standing on his doorstep. Kyle, his attractive neighbour, was standing on his doorstep, wearing a hoody and jeans and still managing to make Craig’s heart speed up, even though he looked frazzled. 

__

Kyle opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Instead his freckled cheeks began to darken and the redness across his face touched the tip of his ears. 

__

“Are you...okay?” Craig managed to ask after far too long of silence. “You look-?” 

__

“I’m the sex line operator you’ve been ringing.”

__

Craig blanched. He shut the door.

__

“Craig, open up!” called the redhead on the other side. “We need to talk!”

__

He shook his head as if Kyle could see what his response was. 

__

“Craig!” there was a banging against the door. “I’m not leaving till you talk to me!” 

__

He sucked in a breath of courage as he witnessed the last few weeks flash before his eyes. He turned and opened the door.

__

Kyle was still there, the redness on his face fading and replaced with a disgruntled frown. “Can I come in?”

__

“Do you have to?”

__

“Don’t make me have this conversation in the hallway, dude.”

__

Despite the disgruntled look on his face, Kyle looked...nervous. It was in the way he tapped his foot and had his shoulders raised high. It made him take pity and open his door further while his brain tried to catch up with what Kyle had told him. 

__

_ I’m the sex line operator you’ve been ringing.  _

__

His voice matched. Maybe once he wouldn’t have placed them, but he’d been talking to Mike for so long, and the guy had become so friendly with him that he felt like whatever voice he heard was definitely not always put on. 

__

And now here was Kyle, his attractive next door neighbour, standing in his living room running a hand through the red curls he’d thought about running his own hand through before, green eyes flittering round the room unable to settle. 

__

“Alright. You wanna...run that by me again?” 

__

Kyle huffed out and finally their eyes locked. Craig felt a little weak at the knees. “I’m Mike. I’m the guy – I wasn’t sure how to tell you, but...I felt like I couldn’t ignore it. Not anymore.” 

__

Not anymore? 

__

Craig felt heat rise in his cheeks as his brain supplied him with a possible reason as to why Kyle might feel that way. The obvious one was about the last call they had had. 

__

Where Craig had said Kyle’s name, and gone on to specify who Kyle was. Kyle, who was not an idiot, and probably was capable of realising that it was specifically him that Craig was talking about. 

__

“I - shit, this is-?!” he swallowed a lump in his throat. “How long have you known?” 

__

“I...had my suspicions pretty early on,” Kyle confessed. “Especially after Clyde had that really weird conversation with me about our cat.” 

__

“Right. The cat.” 

__

“I thought maybe then, but I didn’t have enough proof. That’s sort of when I had names to faces. But I knew you lived with someone who wasn’t Clyde as well, because when you rang about the curtains it was Token.” 

__

He grimaced. 

__

“I...think I knew for certain after you talked to Kenny in the hallway. It was – he cornered you while I was listening, so that I could try identify your voice.” 

__

“Son of a bitch.” 

__

“I just needed to be sure, before I confronted you. Because it would’ve been really, really embarrassing if I was wrong.” 

__

“I dunno, I think it’s pretty embarrassing anyway,” Craig’s voice rose slightly as his anger did. “Thanks for telling me but now I think I’m going to go and hide away in my room for days until I die of starvation.” 

__

“Don’t be an ass, Craig, I’m here to...” 

__

Craig raised a brow. 

__

The blush on the pale face began to return. 

__

“Okay, so you’re the...sex line operator,” Craig started. “And I’m your weird, creepy neighbour who – no wonder you started avoiding me. I’m so...” 

__

“When you – when you said my name,” Kyle pressed on. “Did you...mean...?” 

__

“I meant you, yes. Holy shit, of course I meant you, who other neighbour do I have called Kyle?!” 

__

“Good.” 

__

He stopped short. “Good?” 

__

Kyle shrugged. “I mean, yeah, good, because it’s - I mean, it’s probably pretty creepy that I thought that it was you who was calling and I was still answering the phone, you know? Like, that’s pretty weird, on the creepy scale, so-?” 

__

“It’s not...that creepy. It’s your job, right?” 

__

“Right, but I – I wasn’t unhappy, when I found out that it was you.” 

__

Craig wasn’t sure his brain could keep up with this conversation. 

__

“I was hoping...?” 

__

He swallowed a lump in his throat. 

__

“Talking to you has been really nice,” Kyle confessed. “And I’d been hoping that it was you, who was calling. Because you’re...I really like you.” 

__

“You’re serious?” 

__

He nodded. 

__

“I...yeah, same.” 

__

Kyle gave a snort of laughter, some of the tension disappearing with it. “Same?” 

__

“Yup.” 

__

“Good. Because otherwise I probably would’ve left to go pack up my bags and skip town.” 

__

“You don’t have to go.” 

__

Kyle’s face broke into a smile. 

__

“I’m glad you told me,” Craig admitted. “I know I freaked out but-?” 

__

“I think it’s fair. That you freaked out.” 

__

He nodded. 

__

“Lexus told me that you’ve been trying to ring me,” Kyle admitted as he took a few steps forward. “She was asking if I wanted your number blocked.” 

__

“Bitch.” 

__

“I hope you’re not too upset with me, for ignoring you?” 

__

“So you _have_ been ignoring me?” 

__

Kyle shrugged it off with a grin. “I can make it up to you, I promise. And you won’t have to pay.” 

__

Craig stiffened at the words. 

__

“That’s not – this kind of flirting, it’s kind of the only thing I really think I’m any good at, so if it’s too much-?” 

__

“It’s not too much.” 

__

A smirk took over Kyle’s face. “Good. Because I’ve been imagining how this conversation was going to go for days, and honestly? I kind of was hoping this would be the part where you took me to your room and we got to make good on those missed phone calls.” 

__

“No, we can – it's this way.” 

__

He managed to keep his hands to himself all the way to his bedroom. With each step a thrumming excitement began to build up in him, fingers twitching with energy as he took hold of the handle to his door and opened it, stepping in first and keeping it open for Kyle. He shut the door without looking at the redhead. He avoided the green eyed man until the last moment. 

__

“How do you...?” 

__

Kyle took charge. It didn’t surprise him after all those conversations that the one with confidence would be the shorter male. He stepped forward, taking Craig’s jaw and sweeping up, pressing a soft kiss against Craig’s lips before he inched backwards, eyes searching Craig’s face for some kind of response. 

__

“Okay,” Craig nodded dumbly. “Yeah, okay.” 

__

A grin lit up Kyle’s face, and he dipped back in for another taste. 

__

Craig was putty in his hands. He took hold of the redhead’s waist, a sign that he was going to do something, but he was under no illusion of who was in charge. The very man who ran his hands from Craig’s jaw down his neck, along his collar to his shoulders, squeezing lightly as they continued to kiss. 

__

The man who ran a tongue across Craig’s lips, coaxing his own tongue out to meet him half way. The man who took hold of his lower lip between his teeth and bit down gently, pulling and sucking in a way that left Craig’s head spinning. 

__

"How far are you comfortable with me going?” Kyle breathed in a familiar tone that set Craig’s very being on fire. 

__

“Whatever,” Craig muttered, eyes pinned to Kyle’s lips. “That’s, all of it, sure, or – sorry, I’m-!” 

__

“Exactly how I imagined,” Kyle growled out. “This time I actually get to undress you.” 

__

He made good on his words. Kyle discarded Craig’s shirt and worked on the buttons on his jeans with little difficulty, pulling on the zipper and using it to drag Craig over to the bed. He tugged the jeans down and Craig helped get them off, not willing to part lips with the redhead for even a second longer than he had to. 

__

But then Kyle spun them round and pushed Craig back, and the dark-haired man went falling onto the bed. 

__

He felt a little self-conscious, being there dressed in only his underwear while Kyle was fully clothed. The look that Kyle gave him as the green eyes raked across his body didn’t help. 

__

“Just tell me if you need me to stop,” Kyle breathed out. “Alright?” 

__

“Please do not stop.” 

__

The redhead chuckled and his hands went for his own shirt, tugging at the hem and pulling it over his head. Craig watched on mesmerised as the man undressed for him, standing by his bed shirtless as he unbuckled the belt round his waist and make quick work of his pants. 

__

“Are you...” Craig swallowed a lump in his throat. “Are you not wearing underwear?” 

__

“Like I said, I was kind of hoping you would just take me to bed immediately,” Kyle admitted. “I figured maybe if I came with the intention of getting fucked, it would be more likely to happen.” 

__

_ Fuck.  _

__

Craig’s hands were all over the pale skin. He pinned the redhead to the bed and started to kiss him, his shoulders, the freckles along his biceps, while his hands traced the contours of his body. From his chest down to his belly button, the dip in his hips and the skin that met his thighs. 

__

Kyle brought their lips together again, eyes wide and full of life when they parted, smile dancing at the corners of his mouth. 

__

“I know it’s not classy to fuck on the first date,” the redhead spoke, and each word had Craig that bit harder. “But I figure it’s okay if we skip a couple of steps.” 

__

“Considering you’ve already heard what I sound like when I’m orgasming? I think we can skip a couple of steps.” 

__

Kyle laughed, something melodic and intoxicating, and Craig took the chance to start kissing his neck, round his throat and collar, soaking up the taste and scent that made up this man that... 

__

That he really, really liked. 

__

“Not to rush you or anything,” Kyle muttered as he pulled Craig flush against him, the fabric of Craig’s underwear the only thing separating them, heat radiating off the redhead below him. “But are you going to get the lube out and start prepping me or what?” 

__

“You’re bossy,” Craig observed with a smile spreading across his face. “Anyone tell you that? Why am I not surprised that you’re actually this bossy?” 

__

“You’ve never seemed to mind.” 

__

He didn’t comment on that, didn’t confirm it or deny it either way, though he felt like his lack of an answer spoke volumes. Instead he grabbed the lube from his bedside table, coupling with a condom he had in there that Clyde had left him once, thanking his best friend mentally. 

__

The look that bloomed on Kyle’s face when he inserted the first finger was nothing short of beautiful. He shut his eyes, that smile that seemed stuck on his face ever since they stepped into the room widening that fraction more as he basked in the feeling. When he squeezed Craig’s shoulders and nodded once he took that as a sign that Kyle was ready for more. 

__

So, he gave him the second, and as Kyle rolled his hips and starting making those delectable noises that drove Craig wide, he gave the third. 

__

“Oh, Craig,” Kyle breathed out as his fingers dug into Craig’s skin. “Shit, that’s good.” 

__

“Thanks,” he began moving his fingers, pumping in and out of the redhead as he tried to etch the pleasured expression on Kyle’s face into his memory. 

__

“Give me the condom. I’ll get it ready while you get me ready.” 

__

“There’s no rush, you know.” 

__

“You say that but I’ve spent god knows how long aching for the feeling of you railing me into the mattress.” 

__

He didn’t argue. 

__

He continued to move his fingers, spreading and pushing as he stretched Kyle wide ready to take the rest of him, kissing lines along his chest as Kyle worked on opening the condom, breathing heavy and toes curling against Craig’s thighs at the intruding feeling.

__

“C’mere,” Kyle requested, voice desperate and breathy. “But don’t pull your fingers out. They feel too good.” 

__

Craig did as he was told and Kyle angled down, bending and curling to reach for Craig’s leaking erection. Craig held himself up on his arm and sucked in a harsh breath at the feeling of Kyle’s fingers wrapped round him, enjoying the attention far too much. 

__

“Okay.” 

__

“You ready?” Craig asked as Kyle laid back against his pillow. 

__

“Yeah, I’m ready. Please – fuck please just-!” 

__

Kyle gasped out, hand shooting forward to hold Craig’s shoulder, head arching back. 

__

“Fuck, finally.” 

__

Craig chuckled low at the redhead’s words and leant in, nuzzling against the skin just below his ear as one of Kyle’s hands threaded itself into his hair, the other going for the sheets below. It took all his power not to just bury himself deep, keeping his breathing steady as he moved into Kyle slowly, half way, giving him time to adjust. 

__

Kyle ruined all his self-restraint by rocking his hips in such a way to take in more of Craig. 

__

“I’m not a flower,” Kyle growled out in a way that Craig hadn’t heard before but he was sure as hell hoping he got to hear more. 

__

The noises that Kyle made assaulted his brain, and he kissed the man fiercely as if trying to swallow those beautiful sounds whole. Kyle bit down on his lower lip as if to silence himself, but it didn’t work. 

__

It just made Craig go further, harder, deeper. 

__

He grasped at the back of Kyle’s thigh, using it to bend him that little bit further, letting Craig go that little bit deeper. Kyle panted against his mouth, how to kiss forgotten as they held onto each other for dear life, and Craig could feel his orgasm wasn’t far. He went to take hold of Kyle’s cock, rock hard between their stomachs, but the redhead batted his hand away. 

__

“Let me,” Kyle ordered. “You just concentrate on fucking me.” 

__

“Yes, boss.” 

__

Kyle smirked up at him. “Jackass.” 

__

He couldn’t stop the euphoric smile that spread across his face. 

__

He felt Kyle’s hand moving between them, pumping his cock as Craig rocked into him and railed him into the mattress, just as he asked. Eventually he felt a build-up in his groin, heart beating hard as his insides seemed to warn him, that his orgasm was fast approaching and he could barely stop himself from thrusting himself a little too hard. 

__

“I’m-!” 

__

Kyle didn’t let him finish. The redhead grasped the back of his head and pulled him down, silencing his own orgasm with a kiss. When Craig felt it hit his stomach his body unravelled in the redhead’s hands. 

__

He gave one last thrust before he came, moan needy and weak against the redhead’s lips, every inch of his body way too hot in the best kind of way. 

__

When he finally pulled back and took stock of the man below him, he felt butterflies in his stomach. 

__

Kyle’s brow was glistened with sweat, soft smile gracing his face as he panted, eyes warm and looking only at Craig. 

__

"So,” Kyle grinned up at the man. “Does this count as a first date, or...?” 

__

Craig snorted and leant down to peck at the man’s nose. “If this is what you count as a date, I think I’ve hit the jackpot.” 

__

There was that laugh again. That unashamed, melodious laugh. 

__

They took some time to come down from their euphoria, Craig tying off the condom and disposing of it off the edge of the bed as Kyle stretched across his bed with a sleepy smile on his face. Craig propped himself up on his elbow in order to lean across and place one chaste kiss on the pale lips that turned into three. 

__

“As much as I’m enjoying this, we can’t stay in bed forever.” 

__

The redhead’s smile gave way to a pout and a whine. 

__

“I’ll make us food or something, I don’t know. How long have we even been in bed?” 

__

“Not long enough?” 

__

“Nice try.” 

__

With some wrangling he managed to get Kyle up and into some jeans before searching for his own clothes as Kyle questioned where the bathroom was. He gave vague instructions as he pulled a t-shirt over his head as he heard his bedroom door open. 

__

Panic settled in as he saw the man’s shirt lying on his floor and he rushed out the door. They had been in there a long time. Long enough that it was possible one of his flatmates might’ve returned to be sat out there waiting for…

__

He felt his stomach drop as he focused in on exactly what he was worried about. There on the couch were Clyde and Token, eyes wide and jaws slack as they stared over the back of it to see the redhead frozen in place as he stared back. 

__

“The bathroom,” Craig said, a little too loudly as he pointed down the hall. “It’s that one.” 

__

“Right,” Kyle nodded and seemed to regain some of his composure as he headed out the door and gave a brief wave to the pair on the couch. “Thanks.” 

__

As soon as the bathroom door shut, Clyde spoke. 

__

"Is that _Kyle_?!" 

__

Craig grimaced at the pitch. "Yes. That's Kyle." 

__

"Kyle’s in our house!" 

__

"Yes, he's in our house." 

__

"He came out of your room!" 

__

Craig rolled his eyes. "Yes, he came out of my room." 

__

"Did you-?!" 

__

" _Yes_ , Clyde." 

__

He gave a melodramatic gasp, leaving Token to pick up the questioning with his brows raised high. “I guess ringing a sex line gave you a confidence boost, then?” 

__

Craig stilled. “Uh, not...quite?” 

__

“What, did he make the move?” 

__

“Yeah, he did. He, uh, he’s...the guy.” 

__

The pair stared at him, blanked faced. 

__

“You know. Mike.” 

__

“He’s _what_?!” Clyde shrieked, nearly vaulting over the back of the couch. “He’s the-?!” 

__

“Keep your fucking voice down.” 

__

“Are you kidding me?!” 

__

“No, I’m not. He came round and told me.” 

__

“And then you had _sex_?!” 

__

Craig felt a headache slowly coming on. “Yes, Clyde, god damnit would you calm down?” 

__

“Yeah, don’t make him want to lock himself in the bathroom, he’s finally taken pity on Craig, we don’t wanna scare him off.” 

__

Craig glared at Token. “Dick.” 

__

Token shrugged with a smirk on his face as he turned his attention back to the TV. “Is he staying for dinner?” 

__

“Oh, I don’t mind cooking for four!” Clyde announced, eyes still pinned on Craig. “He’s welcome to stay.” 

__

“You’re not my parents.” 

__

The bathroom door opened. Token grabbed Clyde by the shoulder and forced him to turn round and face the TV. 

__

Despite the pinkness on his cheeks, there was an amused smile on Kyle’s face as he headed over to Craig, eyes glittering with badly hidden humour. Craig reached a hand out for the redhead to take and was pleased when he slotted himself in beside Craig. 

__

“I was actually thinking of going out for dinner?” Kyle suggested quietly. “If you don’t mind?” 

__

“That sounds nice.” 

__

“Oh my god!” Clyde’s voice tore through the peace. “You haven’t even taken him on a _date yet_?!” 

__

They met at the entrance to the flats later that day, after showering and getting ready in their respective apartments. He took the redhead’s hand as they started to walk towards a pizza place that Kyle suggested, low chatter flowing between them with the earlier tension resolved. 

__

Craig couldn’t help but stop him half way, pressing a chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth, as he revelled in the fact that he finally got the man he wanted. 

__

__

**Author's Note:**

> Originally this was actually a Creek fic. This is so old that it's like, pre-Cryle obsession. But then I saw it and I promised myself to finish some old fics and I went 'you know what'll motivate me to finish this? Put some Cryle in it'. 
> 
> And it worked!! I finished it!!


End file.
